Bengaluru, June 7 — In the wake of the stampede that claimed 11 lives during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL trophy celebration, two top officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) have stepped down from their posts, citing moral responsibility.
A Shankar and E S Jairam, who held the posts of secretary and treasurer respectively, announced their resignations late Thursday, submitting them to KSCA president Raghuram Bhat.
“Due to the unforeseen and unfortunate events that have unfolded in the last two days, and though our role was very limited, we wish to state that we have tendered our resignation to our respective posts as the Secretary and Treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association,” read their joint statement.
The tragedy occurred outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where a massive crowd gathered following an open invitation posted by RCB on social media — an invite that was later deleted. The uncontrolled crowd led to a stampede, overshadowing the celebration and forcing the cancellation of a planned victory parade.
While the felicitation ceremony held earlier at Vidhan Soudha went off smoothly, the stadium area witnessed chaos as thousands surged beyond the expected capacity. Despite the turmoil outside, the function inside the stadium continued.
In a submission to the Karnataka High Court earlier this week, KSCA officials — including president Raghuram Bhat, Shankar, and Jairam — stated that crowd and gate management responsibilities did not fall under the association’s jurisdiction. They clarified that they had merely sought permission to host the event and were not in charge of external logistics.
The resignations come amid rising public scrutiny over event planning and accountability, especially in light of the loss of life. Though distancing themselves from the operational lapses, the officials have stepped down in what they termed a step of conscience.
